“To the room with this one,” someone said.
I kicked out towards the voice, my legs the only thing I could move at the moment.
A cold piece of metal pressed against my neck. “Unless you want to try to find a new head, monster, shut up and stay still.”
I drew in a breath and fear caused me to freeze.
Humans.
Oh, gods. Oh, gods.
Where were Loralie and Tsukiko?
Were they alright?
What were we going to do?
How had they gotten onto campus?
How had they managed to get us like this?
A door opened and hot sunlight covered my body.
Of course. They waited until the morning after Samhain to attack us, when we would be exhausted from staying up late and our guard would be down.
But how were they subduing the creatures with powers? Creatures like Dante and Rathik?
Why had Baba Yaga left?
The scent of blood and death filled my nostrils as we continued to walk and I tried not to gag.
What had happened?
I both wanted to see and didn’t at the same time.
The human carrying me tossed me on the ground, my butt hitting the hard floor, but thankfully missed my tailbone.
I grunted in pain and sat up, backing away from where the human had been.
I scooted until I touched a warm body, and then tried to move away, but heat from above my head made me stop.
Was that Dante?
“Frances,” Dante whispered. “It’s okay. I’m right here.” His fingers brushed mine, and I gripped his as much as I could with my bound hands. With the gag in, I couldn’t respond to him, but there wasn’t really anything I could say anyways.
“Keep an eye on that one,” an unfamiliar voice said. “He shouldn’t be able to use his fire, but I still wouldn’t trust him.”
“What about the girl beside him? That’s Frankenstein’s kid, right?” Another unfamiliar voice asked.
“She’s harmless. She’s supposedly smart, but how smart can a monster be? If she starts acting up, just burn her a bit. I’ve heard she’s scared of fire.”
“You keep your filthy human hands off her,” Dante snapped.
“Oh, ho? Tough guy, huh? Got a thing for the zombie chick? That’s useful information,” one of the voices said.
A door shut and Dante sighed behind me. “I don’t know how they got in or got to us all so quickly, but it looks like most of the school is split up into smaller groups and they’re guarding us pretty well. They used some potion that made it difficult to use our powers.”
He’d said difficult, not impossible.
I tried to ask about my friends, but the stupid gag wasn’t helping me talk at all.
“I haven’t seen Tsukiko or Loralie,” he whispered. “They’re still bringing people in, though. So, maybe they’ll be brought in soon.”
Tears burned the corners of my eyes and I sniffled, trying to stop them.
Dante rested his chin atop my head and said, “It’s okay. I won’t let them hurt you. We’ll figure a way out of this. Or, the elites will come and save us.”
I hoped so.
I really really hoped so.
“Hey, move back from her,” one of the humans snapped.
Dante growled, but scooted back. He kept our fingers touching, though behind my back, which the human probably couldn’t see.
I hoped this wouldn’t be the last time we touched.
I hoped my friends were okay.
Lucifer, below, save us, please.
Chapter 29
LORALIE
Before I could process what had happened, my two hellhounds yelped in pain, a burning liquid was poured down my mouth, and I was bound in strong restraints.
“That was easier than I thought,” an unfamiliar voice said.
I inhaled and immediately snarled.
Humans.
I tried to shadow travel, but my powers weren’t working.
What was going on?
One of the humans picked me up and tossed me over their shoulder.
I kicked and flailed, trying to get them to drop me so I could run, but someone punched me in the face, knocking me unconscious.
When I awoke, I sat in the middle of a bright field, trees far away, so no shadows were near me.
There were ten other students, most those who could use shadows to fight. They were all bound by the hands and feet, and then hogtied together to prevent us from escaping.
They must have bound me the same way while I was knocked out.
I looked around, fear clawing at my chest, but I didn’t see Tsukiko or Frances.
That was both reassuring and not at the same time.
Were they safe? Had they managed to escape? Or were they being held somewhere else.
Two warm fingertips pressed into my back. I turned and met Bogden’s eyes. He was also bound and here.
He scooted closer, his eyes burning bright, and rested his forehead against mine. “Are you okay?” He asked telepathically.
“I’m unhurt,” I responded the same way.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let them hurt you.”
“What is going on?” I asked.
“Humans attacked, using a potion that prevents us from using our powers. That’s all I know at this point. It seems like they’re moving us to places where our powers are even less useful.”
“Can you communicate with your mom?” I asked hopefully.
“No.”
Crap. There went that idea.
“We’ll figure something out. Let’s just rest and save up our energy. Hopefully, this potion will wear off soon and we can attack them.”
I liked that plan.
I pulled back from him, realizing we must have looked like we were consoling each other as a couple or something. Scooting a bit back from him, I lay on my side and closed my eyes. If I was lucky, Dad would try to dream walk with me and I could warn him of what was happening. He didn’t do it often, but I could hope.
Bogden scooted closer, rolled onto his back, and wiggled his bound fingertips towards me.
Indecisiveness filled me, but I ultimately gave in, reaching forward to touch our fingertips together.
“I know you’re upset with me or something, but this is beyond us. We need to work together to save everyone. Okay?” His voice filled my head and made my heart beat faster. This was the first time he had communicated telepathically with me.
“Okay,” I agreed because he was right. This went way beyond my feelings for him or our inability to date. This was about saving my friends. This was about saving everyone at the school.
And killing the humans.
The sun pressed down onto me, making me sweat, and making me more uncomfortable than I already was bound up and lying on the ground.
Sleep evaded me for a bit, but Bogden moved closer, our fingers entwined, and I drifted off to sleep.
Unfortunately, Dad didn’t show up in any of my dreams. That made me worry because that likely meant he didn’t even know about the attack yet.
How long would it be before an outsider found out? If the humans had killed all of the chupacabras and wolfmen, then no one would be able to report to an outsider that we were under attack.
How had these stupid humans gotten us all under control so quickly?
The only answer was one that made my skin crawl and fury fill me.